Kota Kinabalu: Chairman of Sabah State Reform Party (Star), Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, will never become the Chief Minister of Sabah if Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim fails to ascend to the premiership.
Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) Secretary Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said this when replying to questions from the audience at a Briefing on Current Issues at Wisma Dang Bandang, here, Thursday.
He also refuted issues such as on Borneonisation and that Sabah is a country and one among four partners in Malaysia, NCR land and poverty that the former Yayasan Sabah Director is propagating.
On Borneonisation, he said there are about 100,000 Sabahans employed in the Federal civil service in Sabah.
"As of now, almost all core Federal departments and agencies in Sabah are also headed by Sabahans," he said.
He said it is not possible that 100 per cent of the employment in the Federal civil service is taken up by Sabahans because it will defeat the purpose of Federalism.
"What if our children who live in other states (in Malaysia) and have the potential to be a departmental head but were denied the position simply because of Sabah's parochial stance?
"Don't you think other states would not adopt a similar stand also?" he queried.
On Sabah as a "nation" and "one among four partners", Rahman said he would be na•ve if he also rejected the notion of "one among four partners".
"However, I cannot run away from reality. All freedom fighters at that time were very sure that the formation of (the Federation of) Malaysia is that Sabah is one of the 14 states in the country," he said.
This is aptly stated in Article (1) of the Malaysian Agreement, he said.
Former Chief Minister Tun Fuad Stephens also, had, on Sept 16, 1963, during the declaration of the Federation of Malaysia, said that the country comprised 14 states that include Sabah and Sarawak.
He said the Inter-Governmental Committee Report also stated that the Federation will comprise the 14 states.
Not one Sabah MP since 1963, he said, has ever objected when the Prime Minister and other Federal ministers referred Malaysia as a combination of 14 states.
The Star, he said, stated that Sabah is a "nation" even before the formation of Malaysia and after.
This is because after the formation, the TYT or Head of State, is referred to as Tuan Yang Di-Pertua Negara, he said.
It is for this reason, Rahman said, that Star kept on harping that Sabah is a nation within Malaysia.
Singapore, he said, continued to use the term Negara on its Head of State since 1959 after the British Government gave Singapore the power to self-govern.
"Singapore only gained its independence from the British through Malaysia in 1963," he said.
On allegations that the Star is sponsored by the BN to split the votes among the opposition, Rahman denied it.
"Officially, we (BN) have never sponsored the Star but I am thankful to Dr Jeffrey because his action is splitting the votes among the opposition voters who support either the Star, SAPP or the Pakatan Rakyat," he said.
The Barisan, he said, will win in the election.
Many of the constituencies that the opposition won in the last election, he said, would be recaptured by the BN.
"We are very lucky because the opposition do not have solid policies," he said.
He also reiterated his earlier statement that if he were not picked to contest in the coming election, he would not be a sour grape.
"I will not close my election camp or try to sabotage the candidate picked by the leadership but I will work day and night to ensure that the candidate wins," he said.
On winnable candidates, he said it does not necessarily have to be from the younger generation.
Citing Bagan Pinang by-election in 2009, he said former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi picked former Menteri Besar Tan Sri Isa Samad, who was then 61, to contest and subsequently won the seat held by the opposition.
"Age is not a problem (to be a winnable candidate)," he said.
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=84184
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